Once again, generations of Governments have let the People down. Since the 1980's it has been "tough on crime" - lock more people up, and for longer. But no Government has been willing to pay to build more prisons, or make the prison system work to cut re-offending rates. So now we have academies of crime, housed in crumbling Victorian buildings, stuffed to capacity. Over 99% so I hear. When people lose faith in British Justice they will begin taking matters into their own hands.
Are we turning into a nation of criminals? We have the highest %age of population in jail in Europe, yet there is something like a 4% conviction rate for burglaries alone.
Empty the foreign criminals out of our prisons and send them home, never to return. That would free up 10k spaces for our homegrown scum. Buy up some land and build super prisons. That would create plenty of jobs and boost the local economies. Bring back hanging for murder, rape, terrorism and general noncery. Ten-year sentences for carrying a knife, burglary and repeated theft. Job done.
According to the Ministry of Justice the cost of keeping a prisoner was nearly £1,000 a week in 2022/23. It's a huge burden, and those who get caught are only the tip of the iceberg.
Nigel Farage must be thinking Christmas has come early. After the Tories have spent months rightly kicking the Government over the removal of Winter fuel payments for 9 million pensioners - a disgraceful policy that I will never forgive - Kemi Badenoch has said if the Conservatives get back into power she cannot guarantee to restore those Winter payments in full. Unbelievable timidity. She is so obsessed with being perceived as 'sensible' that she has lost touch (if she ever had it) of what really angers and motivates people. Farage has promptly come out and said a Reform UK Government will restore Winter fuel payments in full. How he proposes to pay for it doesn't matter. Just that initial promise will catch the attention of voters. I believe under Badenoch the Conservatives are finished. She fails to connect with the people whose votes she needs to win. And I am now more convinced than ever that (for better or worse) Nigel Farage will be this Country's next Prime Minister.
Cartoon Inside Private Eye; bloke being interviewed for a job is asked are you easily offended . He says I find that question highly offensive. Made me chuckle.
I hear Robert Jenrick has been making videos of himself confronting fare dodgers on the Underground. A brave thing to do these days, when some maniacs will stick a sharp object in you just for looking at them the wrong way. But a fairly obvious bit of positioning to take over the Tory leadership - probably next year when they do badly again in the local elections and likely sink below 10% in the opinion polls. Personally I think he's flogging a dead horse. But at least he knows how to touch a nerve with people who are sick and tired of casual lawbreakers like fare dodgers, fly-tippers and shoplifters. Kemi take note. You're not connecting with anyone.
Elon Musk vs Donald Trump beyond parody... Zia Yusuf vs Nigel Farage Mr Yusuf seems to have belatedly realised what kind of people he has got into political bed with. Whether his resignation will slow the rise of Reform UK it's difficult to tell. Depends what Yusuf decides to do or say next. However, Reform UK now looks more than ever like a one-man movement. The Nigel Farage Party.
